It’s Same Story For UW, Osu Huskies Face Team They’ve Beaten 19 Out Of 20 Times

Statistics say about all there is to say about the Washington-Oregon State football rivalry in the past quarter-century. The Huskies almost always have been the top dogs.

Going into today’s Pac-10 game, Washington has won 10 straight in Corvallis. The Huskies have beaten the Beavers 19 out of their last 20 tries, the lone loss coming on a blocked punt for a touchdown in a monumental 20-19 upset in Seattle in 1985.

Nothing is expected to change today. Oregon State is a 23-point underdog despite the widespread perception that this is a program on the upswing.

The Beavers (3-3 overall, 0-3 Pac-10) haven’t been at .500 six games into the season since 1988, but oddsmakers don’t think the improvement is near enough to challenge the seventh-ranked Huskies (5-1, 3-0).

First-year Oregon State coach Mike Riley says he doesn’t see any obvious weaknesses in a Washington team that has gotten better each week since its only loss, 27-14, to Nebraska a month ago.

Washington ran its Pac-10 winning streak to nine games with a 58-28 road rout of Arizona last week.

Quarterback Brock Huard ranks second nationally to Washington State’s Ryan Leaf in passing efficiency. He’s thrown for 14 touchdowns and has had just one pass intercepted all season. Meanwhile, tailback Rashaan Sheehee leads the Pac-10 in rushing at 112.8 yards per game.

The Beavers’ surprisingly tough defense ranks third in the Pac-10. Even though Oregon State was routed by UCLA 34-10 last week, the Beavers held UCLA to more than 100 yards below its season average for total offense.

Oregon State’s offense, however, has been inconsistent, especially on the ground. Last week, the Beavers tied a school record with 64 passes. It’s a far cry from the run-run-thenrun-some-more wishbone attack of Riley’s predecessor, Jerry Pettibone.

The Huskies hated facing the wishbone, mainly because of the “chop” blocks the Beavers used.

“From the players’ standpoint, I know how elated they are that they’re not facing the chop blocks and the sort of blocking philosophy that Jerry had with the wishbone,” UW coach Jim Lambright said.